pcpilot

Happy Birthday Nick. Give yourself a good present, you earned it.

This posted at Gamespot... "Naval simulations and wargames have hit a rough patch in recent years. Just witness the on-again, off-again attempts to make Harpoon 4 over the past five years. In the early days of PC gaming, naval sims enjoyed an era of popularity with games such as the original Harpoon, Red Storm Rising, and Silent Service, among others. But as the simulation and wargame genres have declined, the naval sim in general has nearly disappeared. Developer Sonalysts, though, is one company that has steadfastly continued to create deep, complex, sophisticated naval sims, from 688(I) Hunter/Killer and Fleet Command to Sub Command. Now the company's latest game, Dangerous Waters, is nearing completion." Finish reading the rest of the article HERE. Take note of the added screenshots and a short video of an SH-60 in action. Then come on back and post your comments. i tell ya swabbies, Im looking forward to this title! ;)

Good luck with it Creepy. That would P--- me right off to discover something like that. You expect for the money you pay that the storage is secure. Certainly not that birds or any other animal bigger than a mouse can come in and ruin everything. We've always set mouse and rat traps and placed mothballs everywhere in our storage. I certainly wouldnt think about birds being a problem.

Whoops, forgot to add one... Chasing Beaver...

...take a look at my "gaming" page. Its growing into my "Hobby Pages". Ive added two links on the left side for my wings prices page which also shows off some of the WW2 period pilot and aircrew wings Ive collected, (only a few so far). And there is also a link for my "Memorbilia page which shows some of the period stuff Ive collected lately. There are also a few links for history buffs and wing/memorbilia collectors. Quite a bit more will be added eventually. Hope ya like 'em. let me know what ya think... :) PS. The link to get there is in my signature below.

Isnt this the new Seawolf class of boat? What does PCU stand for? Obviously something to do with an un-commissioned ship. With the Ticonderoga being decommed, its good to see something coming in to replace it. Read the description of some of its capabilities, pretty interesting. Sort of a multi-tasking vessal thats just the ticket for present day military applications. I've been hearing news latley though that the US sub fleet is having serious readiness problems. The story for the Virginia can be found HERE! 1st pic 2nd pic 3rd pic

So the Virginia is a different class of boat altogether from the Seawolf class? Ya, those pricetags are enough to win the war...for the enemy...

Very interesting article I found at Techcentral. It goes hand in hand with an article I read recently about the Chinese making a "reunifacation" law that would be a "legal" justifacation for attack. This all reminds me of the buildup to attack in Europe by Germany prior to WW2. I have to question American resolve to defend Taiwan right now too. During the coldwar, Taiwan would have been defended simply because it was anti-communist. Now we are stretched thin with Iraq, Afganistan, Bosnia, etc. thanks to Clinton. The Chinese have to see this as thier best opportunity to bring the island back under thier control. The economic rewards are greater than even Hong Kong, which provides further incentive to them. Their navy obviously still isnt a match for ours, in either numbers or technology. But they can focus their power in a small area of ocean, and all they have to do is get a large army across the straight quickly and half the battle is won, even if they are cut off from further resupply/reinforcement. What's America going to do then, another blokade like Cuba? Try to starve the Chinese out? That wont work cause you'll starve the indigeneus population too. As far as their technology goes, just because its behind the curve doesnt mean it aint still deadly. Ask a sailor on a boat which has just been hit with a silkworm what he thinks about their technology lag. I personally beleive we have a responsibility to defend Taiwan. Its a matter of principle if nothing else. We cant allow dictators of the communist Chinese stripe to subjugate the people of Taiwan. If the island wants to reunite peacefully thats different, thats their choice. If they are willing to consider it, the US should broker the talks and see that Taiwan isnt taken to the cleaners and her people's freedom is secured properly, unlike HongKong's. But if we do go to war with China over this issue, it will have to be for the long haul, something Americans dont seem to have the grit for these days.

THAT is freaky stuff! Wonder how often they have to charge the batteries? Personally, I always wanted my left arm to morph into a 37mm cannon... B) :D

I think your right scout, the nationalist chinese do have a smart military. We operated with their navy on several occasions and they knew what they were doing. With the possible exception of Israel, I dont think an old FRAM destroyer was ever so ably manned. Here's an interesting link... ROC vs PRC. Another link... Republic of China Navy. Im curious about your comments Nick. Im not sure I understand where your coming from or how your comments relate to the topic of Taiwanese defence and the likelihood of war with PRC. Do you think the Republic of China is a dictatorship? Its officers are voted in to my knowledge since the death of Chiang Ki Chek. America has helped to guarantee Taiwan's safety since the Nationalist army's retreat to formosa back in 1949. But we have hardly installed its goverment. Just unsure...

Actually, I am scum... :( These very same aircraft were at the Ramona airport last month. I have digital pics and didnt post them. I am, even as I speak, whipping myself with the flat end of my flip-flop. These are great pics PG. You got most of what I got. I too was able for the firsttime ever, to walk, or should I say crouch, thru a B24. VERY cool... B) I stopped at the waist gunner position and swung the gun a few times, then noticed the pilot looking at me. Decided to leave his guns alone... Then, despite the cockpit being roped off, I fanagled permission to go in and get a few shots of the cockpit, nose-gunner/bombadier position, and the top-gunner turret. Unfortunately had to leave before I got to go inside the B17. Got some great outside shots though. Thanks for taking the time to post the pics PG. Its always neat to see old warbirds like these and to let your imagination go back 60 years to a different world... ;)

I remember how impressed we were with this ships' capabilities when she came out. She's still one of the most sophisticated boats in the water. She seems awful young to be decomming her... :( Story can be found at the Navy Newsstand.

Geeze creepy, I about spit my beer all over my monitor! Hey, you wouldnt happen to be the same gyrene creepy that belongs to the Military Gamers Group would ya? Chief, that dweeb that came over to your house has probably always been one, ya savvy? ;) By the way firehawk, you have my deepest sympathy man... :D

I gotta agree, DEFINATELY a bummer. I was looking forward to this title. But I was wondering just a short while ago why we hadnt heard anything lately, then BOOM! this news... :(

Unable...to speak...jaw...frozen...screens way too...awesooooome...... Look here...Subsim SH3 July screenies Mustnt slobber...

GADZOOKS MAN! Sounds very interesting, Im on my way!!! :D

Been a little quiet on the DW front lately so I'm glad to see some new screenshots come out. I noticed at the top of the listing of screenies that DW has progressed from "pre-alpha" to alpha stage in its developement. Nice to see progress is being made. The latest screens can be found here at Sonalysts DW screenshots. The explosion on the Brit CV looks pretty good. If they let the community mod, I bet it'll look a LOT better, hehe. That infared camera shot shows something getting whacked bigtime. I also like the info bar along the bottom, handy stuff to know at a glance. All in all, looking pretty good. This aught to be a good title. Cant wait... ;)

Kinda gives ya the willies thinking something this big is cruising past ya just below the surface. Neat shot though. Even on a surface ship, DD-971, Ive spotted subs' hull forms underwater in the clear pacific. We used to operate occasionally with US and allied subs, usually chasing them. I used to think if I could see them, it oughts be pretty easy for a plane to spot one once he was in the area. Even a hundred feet down might not be enough if the water is clear enough. Any comments from our webfoot submariners? You guys probably know what it was like, eh? HMAS RANKIN PS. Also a cool link at bottom of photo for the RIMPAC2004 exercises...check it out. GO NAVY! ;)

I dont know man...feeding those prisoners baloney sandwiches...now THATS inhumane. Of course, if you REALLY wanted to make an impression on them, feed them MRE's... :D

*Sailor walks into room, sees sheep in camo, and first thought that pops into his head is...* "Hmmm, some soldiers' been a mite lonesome..." *sailor hauls butt out of room...laughing...*

Thanks chain, think Ill check 'em out.

God rest his soul. My prayers are for Gods' peace in the hearts of his family during this loss. I might add it was thoughtful of you CT, to ask for Gods' help.

A friend took some photos of me at a party and I thought you'd get a grin seein what your freindly neighborhood moderating smartass looks like... :D This is a reprise of a shot taken of me 20 years ago on the same spot on the porch of a 150 year old ranch house on the Barnett ranch near Ramona. This is my best freinds familys' place. Me and dan have been best freinds nearly 20 years; thats two decades...a long time...he still hasnt gotten any prettier... ;) Sweetie is always mooching, and Im always teasing her...waggin' the dog... Im not sure, but this may have been right after I released a resonating, echoing, burst of flatulance that caught everyones attention...racketyjack strikes again... One thing Ive learned in life...ok, two things... 1st, learn to laugh. A good place to start is taking a close look at yourself; inevitably you'll find something to grin about. 2nd, want fast relief? fart... :D

AAAHHHH, ya dadblamed whippersnapper! :D Hmmmm, come to think of it, old farts usedta yell that at me.... ;) Oh well, as they said on the movie city slickers...YEEEHAAAAWWWWW! "Thats a GOOD yeehaw son!"

Thanks for the replies guys. Still doing research though. Not sure what I want to do. I may still just go with a high quality joystick and call it bueno. The cougar is the one I was thinking of, but I aint gonna buy into a top dollar heartache. I need to check out their forums when I get the chance. The CH is nice but man, they sure want a LOT for the plastic peddals. That noise Ive been hearing is my wallet whining from the strain...